Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Sukkertoppen, 314m
South to north traverse, May 24 2008
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The traverse
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The south to north traverse ..
of Sukkertoppen is not the normal way of getting across Sukkertoppen. 99% of the visitors come from the east and return the same way. A small group fancy the Trollråsa route down the west side. An even smaller group find it in their hearts to cross this mountain the rugged way. Fortunately, I have friends in this category, and it's my pure pleasure to initiate these outings.
I had already showed Trond the "Hyllene" route, and Terje was the 2nd person (after Olav, of course) who I hiked Trollråsa with. On a fun night out on the town on Friday, Trond and Terje expressed interest in "Tyskerstien" - a route they hadn't done yet. And unroped too, for sure! After midnight, we were as brave as we could get. We might have discussed the grand traverse, but when I woke up on Saturday morning, the fine grain of the plan had slipped my mind..
The Ascent
It would be a horrendous lie to officially state that I was 100% fit for fight, but I wasn't half bad when I met the others, some hours later. The awkward morning balance was now more or less under control, and the route ahead didn't worry me much. I knew it well. The others declined a rope for safety and the journey was on. I forgot to bring water. A bad, bad mistake..
The guys seemed to enjoy Tyskerstien. Terje is an excellent climber (although he never climbs rock) and went his own ways (as usual). I wondered if I would see a trapped monkey up there, but everything went quite ok (as usual). I had climbed Terje's route once before, and didn't like it much. But indeed that route was more rock climbing style. Trond and I were left with some tiny roots as our safety net.
We arrived at the "Trollråsa" mailbox, where we met Anita and Per-Arve, just signing the visitor register. My physical condition was quite OK, but I could kill for a bottle of water. We then spent some time climbing around and near the mailbox. Terje enjoyed revisiting the "Ikke den veien! (not that way!)" route - the cliff he climbed the last time he was here, while I (in vain) tried to get him to follow the normal route. Trond enjoyed the climb and seemed to carry any vertigo hidden in the pocket.
Attack of the clones
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We continued up "Ufseråsa" - a route that allows for any type of scrambling or climbing, and with a superb exposure. A very interesting route, as any slip is fatal. The guys enjoyed this climb too. Some minutes later, we were standing on top of Sukkertoppen, and I suffered from serious dehydration.
The Descent
We agreed to descend the "Hyllene" route. I had never descended that way before, and I was curious whether we would find the entry point or not. We found it, after searching for a while. The descent was less difficult than I had expected to be. Once down in the area where I normally belay my co-hikers, I watched my comrades climb down from tree to tree in excellent monkey style. The guys were fully acclimated now. Respect for the terrain seemed to be on the bus. Any request for care and caution was met with even faster pace.
We made it down safe and sound and went our separate ways. Mine led straight to bed, after drinnking an unknown quantity of water. The rest of the afternoon was pretty much spoiled, but I was up 06:00AM the next morning for a brilliant ski-trip to Kvasshornet in Ørsta. Report will follow..
